PRESIDENTIAL AIDE DISCUSSES FLOOD RESPONSE, JOLO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002089 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/01/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PINS EAID ELAB MOPS RP SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL AIDE DISCUSSES FLOOD RESPONSE, JOLO ATTACK, AND MIL-MIL TIES WITH THE AMBASSADOR REF: MANILA 2055 (JOLO ATTACK) Classified By: Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, reason: 1.4 (b and d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Presidential Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita described to the Ambassador the dedication of President Arroyo and Defense Secretary Teodoro to flood relief efforts. Over a one-on-one breakfast on October 1, Ermita said the GRP was investigating the explosion responsible for two American servicemen's deaths on the southern island of Jolo; the Ambassador assured Ermita that U.S. forces were taking extra security precautions. Ermita expressed appreciation for the Ambassador's moderately-toned public response to critics of the U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The Ambassador cited joint humanitarian efforts as proof of the VFA's value. The Ambassador also thanked Ermita for helping ensure that the GRP engaged productively with a visiting International Labour Organization (ILO) delegation. End Summary. GRP'S FLOOD RESPONSE -------------- ¶2. (C) In an October 1 breakfast meeting with Office of the President Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, the Ambassador expressed condolences for the Filipino victims of tropical storm Ketsana. Ermita said top GRP officials were taking their relief efforts extremely seriously. He described President Arroyo's travels on September 30 to the provinces of Albay, Pampanga, and North Cotabato to deliver relief supplies and check on the welfare of communities. She had begun her day at 6:00 a.m. and, without breaking for sleep, had been reviewing papers at 2:00 a.m. the morning of October 1, when Ermita last saw her. ¶3. (C) Ermita also praised Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro's work as chairman of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC). Although some officials from the ruling coalition wanted Teodoro -- the coalition's 2010 presidential candidate -- to seize more photo opportunities, the Secretary instead insisted on focusing on serious elements of his job. Ermita believed Teodoro sincerely sought not to wring political gains from his work on behalf of storm victims. (Septel will report more of the Ambassador's discussion with Ermita on relief efforts.) JOLO CASUALTIES -------------- ¶4. (C) Ermita expressed condolences for the two American soldiers killed in Jolo on September 29 (reftel). He said he had dispatched a team of investigators to Jolo. He expressed concern that the U.S. might engage in unilateral American military action to retaliate for the explosion that killed the two Americans and one Filipino. The Ambassador said that U.S. forces had heightened their security posture and that they remained focused on their mission of assisting the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The Ambassador reminded Ermita that U.S. forces were in the Philippines to assist and advise the Philippine armed forces in their counter-terrorism fight. Our continued focus would be exactly that. VFA --- ¶5. (C) Noting that the humanitarian efforts of U.S. soldiers had not silenced Philippine Senators critical of the U.S.-Philippines Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA),Ermita said he believed such criticism did not reflect broad public sentiment. Rather, a few politicians were seeking media attention. He said the Ambassador had wisely avoided head-on confrontation with the VFA's detractors; a more confrontational approach would simply have heightened the issue's profile, to our mutual detriment. ¶6. (C) The Ambassador noted that the U.S. mission supplemented its public emphasis on the benefits of our mil-mil partnership with frequent private conversations with key GRP interlocutors as well as with critics in the Senate. The Ambassador highlighted that our joint training and exercises had proven critical in enabling U.S. Marine medical units to engage immediately and productively with their Philippine counterparts in efforts to provide humanitarian MANILA 00002089 002 OF 002 relief. ILO VISIT -------------- ¶7. (C) The Ambassador thanked Ermita for his personal engagement with a visiting International Labour Organization delegation, and for his efforts to ensure others in the GRP also engaged the ILO productively. (Note: In a September 27 meeting, ILO delegation members told Poloffs they had received "total cooperation" from the highest levels of the GRP; they believed they would soon be able to begin technical assistance programs in the Philippines, and, although they remained concerned about abuses of labor rights, they would likely be able to produce a positive report on their visit. End Note.) ¶8. (C) Ermita said the GRP was still learning how to deal productively with such international organizations, slowly overcoming reluctance and suspicion. In his own meeting with the delegation, he had found the ILO officials to be thoughtful and focused on helping the GRP to cope with its problems. COMMENT -------------- ¶9. (C) We have extensively engaged the public to explain the parameters of our military activities in the Philippines. It is curious, therefore, that Ermita worried about a unilateral U.S. response to the Jolo attack. Some NGOs also have expressed concern that we might take it upon ourselves to lash out against the perpetrators. While this worry reveals a misconception about the role of our forces here, it also illustrates the seriousness with which Filipinos view the attack on U.S. troops in Jolo. KENNEY